I daren’t show the Muddies this cutie. They’ve been bugging me for a puppy since I re-homed the three guinea pigs I’d been feeding, playing with and cleaning out for the past two years. Luckily he’s all the way over with Ms Muddy Surrey about to take part in a Muddy road trial…

When organic dog treats company Huxley Hound got in in touch to tell me about their range of organic vegetable treats my ears pricked up. (See what I did there!).

The Muddy pooch was barely out of nappies at that stage, and I was pretty new to the whole fur baby thing – but as we were using treats as part of her puppy training I wanted to be sure that what she was eating was healthy.

Mike and Zena, are the Surrey-based couple behind Huxley Hound, and – inspired by their own pooches, Huxley and Rolo, a pair of long-haired miniature dachshunds – they’ve produced a range of ‘Better Than Raw’ vegetable treats that are made from fully traceable British organic vegetables, are high in vitamins and nutrients, and low in calories.

Boom! They had me at organic.

They come packaged in resealable brown paper pouches with a clear window at the front through which you can see the treats. They look a lot like those posh dried vegetable crisps you buy at Whole Foods Market and Waitrose.

Each 20g bag is made from about 200g of fresh vegetables. The dehydration process preserves the nutrients and antioxidants but allows the goodness to be condensed into bite sized snacks.

The Muddy pup sampled the carrot and beetroot treats – a third flavour, broccoli, is still in production.

And her verdict: an excited wag of tail, a couple of crunches and down she goes. She’ll sit when she’s asked if there’s one of these on offer. And despite warnings of possible staining (carpets, floors, pooch) with the beetroot treats, we’ve seen none of that. It’s difficult to judge which are her favourites, but I’d guess at the beetroot treats.

Now if only I can get the Muddy bratlets to behave in the same way when I offer vegetable treats.

The organic beetroot and carrot treats ‘Better Than Raw’ treats are now available from the Huxley Hound website. huxleyhound.com